NYC Settles Lawsuit With Atlanta Hawks’ Sefolosha

NEW YORK (AP) — Atlanta Hawks player Thabo Sefolosha settled his lawsuit against New York City after he was acquitted of criminal charges stemming from a police fracas outside a trendy Manhattan nightclub that left him with a broken leg and the end of his NBA season.

The guard-forward was arrested in April 2015 outside the 1Oak nightclub in Manhattan. Prosecutors said he repeatedly disobeyed officers’ orders to leave the area around the club where another NBA player, Chris Copeland, had been stabbed.

In his lawsuit, Sefolosha said he called one of the officers “a midget” before he was thrown to the ground and arrested. He testified at his trial that he moved off the block at the behest of a confrontational officer and was trying to give a panhandler a $20 bill when he was grabbed by police and taken to the ground.

The officers “attacked and jumped” on Sefolosha and one used a baton to hit him during the arrest, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan against the city and five police officers.

Sefolosha said he was left with a broken leg during the struggle, causing him to miss the playoffs. The Swiss national was acquitted of misdemeanor criminal charges.

“This settlement is not a concession that Mr. Sefolosha was blameless in this matter and there was no admission of liability by the defendants,” the city Law Department said in a statement. However, it said “in light of the gravity of his injuries, the potential impact on his career as a professional athlete and the challenge for a jury in sorting out the facts in this incident, the resolution of the case was in the best interests of the city.”